- Group continues heading east at night- Laughing that we heard behind us ends (in vicinity of chasm)- Hear foot steps closing upon us from the west- Attacked by volly of arrows and spears!

- Long combat- Orcs (throwing javelins) and gnolls (with a G, using short bows) hold their position and fire upon us- roughly 6 orcs and 12 gnolls- Miri and Belwar close distance and put down a lot of hurt- Zurn fires sling bullets (not the sling; bullets do more damage than the sling itself)- Saul sets his vibrating mace to "pleasure" - Himo unleashes Magic Missle after Magic Missle- Arlen plays bard music and inspires us to fight!

- Slowly work our way through the ranks, thinning out enemy number- Mirri gets three critical hits (woo hoo!)

- Suddenly a large ogre-giant appears with a massive sword- It is the same kind (or the identical one!) that we fought at the mouth of the cave- Mirri and Belwar are there to engage- Belware receives an obscene amount of damage- Zurn heals Belwar- Mirri notes that wounds on the ogre-giant are healing!- Fight fight fight hurt pain ouch win!- Ogre goes down heavily- Just Arlen notes that there are no wounds on the ogre, it dissipates in a cloud of vapor!- Mirri wonders if that is how they die

- Recover crappy arrows from gnolls (with a G) - it is the only thing of value that they possess (that we see)- Bandage and double-time march for some miles

* Evening of 24 April- Wake up and ready to continue- Man enters our camp- He is Firque. Belwar, Zurn, and Hemo remember this fellow as one who travelled with Melzak. They originally met after the Companions left the Chasm the last time that they were there (when they killed Dannobar).- Wild-looking human wearing Coyote skins, carrying a large sword- He and his people are returning to their home - they are setting camp; we are breaking camp- He mentions that the armies from the chasm are marching by way of mountain tunnels. They are headed to lay seige upon a kingdom in the southeast

As the companions are approaching the Keep from the west, and being that the road only approaches from the east, the companions are forced to circumnavigate the Keep and mount the road to follow it's westerly course. The road is one that rises 200 feet to meet the gates of the keep that sits upon a forested mesa of sorts.

Near the base of that climb, where the slope of the rising road becomes truly noticeable, they note that there are now large boulders on either side. These boulders stand seven feet high, and are nearly four wide. It is clear that they have been purposefully "planted" here, perhaps as markers to the ignorant that they are near their goal.

Torchlight twinkles through the trees in the pre-dawn as the companions near the Keep. Earlier than one might expect, voices are heard from above and the companions are met by an open gate and a fair number of soldiers. Work has obviously been underway in their absence, and the stone fortifications appear to be completed on the east wall of the Keep.

Among those who meet the Companions upon entering the Keep is Brescht, who is overjoyed (contrary to in-game indications) to see Hemo and his friends return safely. Corris arrives at the gate only a few moments after the companions do.